I'm in KC and am preparing to launch a commercial product based on the Atmega328P. Because of that I don't have a lot of spare time currently but would still be happy to get in touch. PM me an email or something if you like.

Also, make sure and check out our local hacker space: http://blog.cowtowncomputercongress.org/. I haven't kept up with those guys in a few years but should be a great place to start locally.